South Korea notched top scores worldwide for manufacturing value-added as well as for tertiary efficiency—a measure that includes enrollment in higher education and the concentration of science and engineering graduates. While the country's No. 39 ranking for productivity might pass for mediocre, it was second for R&D intensity, high-tech density and patent activity and ranked sixth for researcher concentration.
While the top spot is befitting for a country that puts a lot of money toward developing new technologies and produces its fair share of the world's engineers, the conversation in South Korea has been more about how the economy can get the bang for its buck in innovation, according to Marcus Noland, director of studies at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, with a focus on North and South Korea.
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